MIA

after a month of being in trinidad, i was so excited to log onto my blog and see that some lovely soul had left me a comment!! as i eagerly opened the comment, hoping it was from my little 13 year old irish cousin with electric red hair, or one of my college friends who was missing me desperately, or maybe even from a secret or past admirer, i was utterly disappointed to read,
" Anonymous said...
please update at least once a week. thank you.

10:50 PM"

! a chastisement from the bloglords.

well, fine. if you want an update I'll give you an update.

Since graduation, I have come to Trinidad (it's the souther most island in the west indies-- in the caribbean... it borders venezuela... i encourage you all to look it up in an atlas... atlases can be very fun, let me assure you .. especially after a few drinks!) with my whole family to attend my cousin's wedding. my cousin (the one with the red hair), my sister and i joined the bridal party, all wearing the same baby-blue beaded dress. the wedding was beautiful, but not as beautiful as my cousin, of course, but that goes without saying. she married a lovely and painfully goodlooking guy from St. Louis. (the bride's mother [my auntie.. not aunt, but auntie] told me this evening that she could worry less about her daughter's future now that she's being looked over by Saint Louis. i thought that was just so clever.) the son of a tomato and cabbage farmer, he's a private pilot. the happy couple just built a house in florida and i can't wait to visit.

for the sake of all you future wedding planners out there, the reception was held at the nearby golf course, in a outdoor breezy tent. the sunset was magical that evening and the dancing did not stop allll night. following the reception, all the youngsters (but not the young-youngsters of course) went out to the hottest nite club to hit the island, called Zen. I have since become a Zen regular. it reminds me of a New york club, with three levels all overlooking the main dance floor, with several VIP sections, one of which is on the roof under the stars (or the sun, depending on how long you're there!).

the day after the wedding we all went 'down de islans' to a family friend's house. we took a boat from the marina to a house on one of the smaller islands surrounding the north coast. we had lots of food, drinks, speeches, swimming, sun and merriment. finally, the next day we all went to another family friend's house in blanchisseuse, a beach about a 1 and a 1/2 hours away. we all had some more great food and drinks and company. i attempted to surf, and 'limed' in the jacuzzi with everyone, including the comedic relief of the wedding, the 3 year-old terror... albeit an entertaining terror.

then, slowly but surely the irish, st. louis and even the trini contingents made their ways back to their homes around the world. i, however, decided to stay for a few more weeks, which have been filled with waterfalls, beaches, pools, parties, books, movies night clubs and (soon to be) turtles.

i hope that was a good enough update for the moment. i'll check in soon, or else i'm sure to receive another threatening comment from the blog lords.

and now a few reviews of the books i've read recently
1. "the alexandria quartet" by lauernce durell is a real literary gem. very very well written, a joy to read the prose. haven't gotten through much of it yet, though.
2. "a heartbreaking work of staggering genius" by Dave Eggers ... soooo good. it's the story of a 21 year-old orphan who takes care of his little brother. i highly highly recommend it. it's told in a stream of conciousness style and i can't wait to find out what happens next.
3. "blink" by.. not sure who.. is a non-fiction that discusses the decisions we all make in a spilt second. it's a interesting and thought-provoking read.
4. and finally " harry potter and the goblet of fire" if you have ever read any of the harry potters yet, you won't need me to recommend to you the 4th of the series. it was a joy to read while i was taking a mental vacation. a little scary at the end, even though i knew harry would live to make another book! can't wait to read the rest of them.

tell me what you all thought of these books!